My Version of Spaghetti and Meatballs

My sister thought me this simple and classic spaghetti dish. Good thing I keep a few cans of Del Monte Spaghetti sauce and pasta to whip up some simple and quick meal. This is the recipe I followed. I bought a freshly baked baguette to complete the meal.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground lean beef

2 cups finely chopped onions

1 large egg white

3 tablespoons fine dried bread crumbs

1 tablespoon minced garlic

About 1/2 teaspoon salt

About 1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 can (28 oz.) tomato purée

1/3 cup dry red wine (see notes)

1/3 cup fat-skimmed beef broth

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon sugar

3/4 pound dried spaghetti

About 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Preparation:

1. In a covered 5- to 6-quart pan over high heat, bring 2 1/2 to 3 quarts water to a boil.

2. In a bowl, mix beef, 1/2 cup onions, egg white, bread crumbs, 1/2 tablespoon garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Shape mixture into 12 equal balls (about 1 3/4 in. each).

3. Place meatballs in a single layer, without crowding, in an 11- to 12-inch nonstick frying pan over high heat; turn as needed to brown on all sides, about 5 minutes total per batch. As meatballs are browned, transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon.

4. Add remaining 1 1/2 cups onions and 1/2 tablespoon garlic to frying pan; stir often until onions begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add tomato purée, wine, broth, basil, and sugar; stir until boiling.

5. Add browned meatballs to sauce; when sauce boils, cover, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until meatballs are no longer pink in the center (cut to test), 8 to 10 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, add spaghetti to boiling water and cook until barely tender to bite, 7 to 9 minutes; drain well.

7. Mound spaghetti in a wide bowl. Pour meatballs and sauce over pasta. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese and parsley; serve with salt, pepper, and additional cheese to add to taste.

Toast Box Breakfast

I was too lazy to cook breakfast this morning and I want to have something delicious and different so headed to Toast Box. There were the regular morning people that I see often. The toast box has a relaxing and clean atmosphere, white interiors, tables and chairs are all white. I’m not much of a breakfast person but this time I want something heavy and good because lunch will be late due to scheduled meetings at work within the day. I ordered their meat floss thick toast, milk tea and two half boiled eggs. The toast has 2 toothpicks sticking on two opposite corners, the half boiled eggs are so creamy and velvety but if you’re not a fan of runny egg yolks this is not for you. I ate my toast with my hands because that’s the way to eat it. The meat floss goes well with the toast. I dipped my toast to the half boiled egg with a little soy sauce, it tasted heaven. The gooey goodness of the yolk and the soy sauce really blended well. I broke the soft boiled eggs in the bowl, its looks gross but it’s delicious. This is the breakfast of champions.

Wok Inn Fish n’ Chips

I haven’t had fish n’ chips for a while. There are restaurants offering fish an’ chips but it cost a little more. Serving size is well big by regular standards but what if you’re craving for an order of fish n’chips and you don’t have enough money for a restaurant chippy? No worries, Wok Inn Fish n’ Chips is the answer. A crispy, delicious order of fish n’ chips for $6.00 with Malt vinegar and a bottle of beer will complete the caper. Stall owner Mr. Michael Molina told me he left to the UK in his teens and worked in a chippy shop for 9 years. He then moved on to be a cabby in London and opened a Chinese restaurant in Greece called Wok Inn. He said that he want Singaporeans to have an authentic British fish and chips at an affordable price. As far as I’m concerned he succeeded in doing that. You can have with ketchup or tartar sauce but if you want to have the authentic taste, the stall has ample supplies of Heinz vinegar to get that crispy sourly goodness of their fish and chips. Wok Inn fish and chips are best paired with an ice cold bottle of Guiness. Get it at Tao Payoh Lor 4, Blk 95.

Ice Kachang

Desserts are not given much attention in some food blogs, I don’t know why. For that reson, I decided to feature a local Singapore dessert enjoyed by many especially during summer. Ice kachang is a mountain of ice in a bowl with sweet jellies, sweet beans and fruits poured with colorful syrups. I like my ice kachang with sweet jackfruit and sago for that extra bite and sweetness. I headed down to Chinatown and went to Mei Heong Yuen, considered as the place serving the best ice kachang in Singapore. The place was packed; I waited for a few minutes to be seated. I ordered the mango strawberry duo and must tell you this dessert looks gorgeous. The 10 minute wait to get a table earlier was all worth it. The yellow color of the mango syrup and the red strawberry syrup dripping from the top of the ice is mesmerizing. There are bits of mango and strawberries at the side of the plate, sweet indeed. The ice they use here is finer than the traditional ice shavings used in regular kachangs. The ice are like thin pencil shavings which gave it a more velvety and smooth consistency. The first few spoons of the dessert gave me brain freeze because I’m afraid that if I ate too slowly, the ice will melt before I finish the dessert. I don’t want to eat a sweet yellow and red liquid out of a plate you know but the ice held its form until I finished the dessert.

 

If you want to taste and eat the best ice kachang in Singapore, go to Mei Heong Yuen located at 67 Temple St., Chinatown.

Curry Laksa

Laksa is one of the most popular dishes in Singapore. It is a spicy noodle soup popular with the locals. There are two types of laksa “Curry laksa” and “assam laksa”. This dish is usually served during lunchtime and the common ingredients are rice vermicelli or laksa noodles, coconut milk, curry or assam soupbase. Most versions of curry laksa use fish sticks or fish balls, tofu, shrimps and cockles. There are three variants of curry laksa – “laksa lemak” is made with thick coconut gravy, “Laksam” is made with flat white rice flour noodles and white gravy of coconut milk and fish broth and “Katong laksa” with the noodles cut into smaller pieces and can be eaten with a spoon.

I have tried both type of laksa, curry and assam laksa. I will give my feedbacks on curry laksa on today’s post and assam laksa on my next blog entry. My fiancé and I went for the Zhen Shan Mei Claypot laksa in Alexandra Village. Many people have been raving about this place and I can see why. Their laksa is one heavyweight and cholesterol laden of soup goodness served in a clay pot. Hot, thick, orange and a little spicy gravy, with a few pieces of unpeeled prawns, bits of eggs and fish balls and squid. The gravy or broteh is rich, the noodles is cooked just right. Everything is just right except that you may need to check your cholesterol level or run to burn out this coconut and curry goodness. If your cholesterol level is low then a bowl of their laksa is one cure for you. We were able to finish the whole bowl and we’ve agreed to have another serving of this laksa after a month or 2.

Butter Chicken

Indian cuisine is embedded in Singapore food culture and one of the best dishes introduced by our Indian brothers is butter chicken. It should not be confused with chicken tikka masala, a similarly colored Indian chicken dish. Dressed chicken ( de-boned or not) is marinated overnight with a mixture of spices such as garlic paste, ginger, garam masala, lemon, coriander, cumin, turmeric , chili and yogurt. Traditionally it’s cooked on a tandoor oven but if you don’t have one, you can grill or cook it using a regular oven. The sauce is a mixture of butter, tomato puree and spices including cinnamon, cumin, fenugreek, pepper and fresh cream. I headed to Little India to a restaurant called Achaya Kari. The smell of spices is wafting in the air and it made me hungry. The place is simple but they serve a wide variety of Northern and Southern Indian cuisine. The butter chicken in this place is a must! It goes well with cheese and garlic naan. The thick gravy blended well with the tender chicken breast cubes. I think rice will also go well with this. I also tried their kadai mutton, it’s good because it doesn’t have that strong, gamey smell to it and the meat was cooked well, tender and juicy. I’m just thinking, a cold pint of Guinness stout may give this dish a good finish. The coffee, creamy character of Guinness will wash down the down the spicy goodness of butter chicken.

Oyster Omelet

One of the best things about Singapore is its food. Everywhere you go, there are food centers, food courts, hawker centers, coffee shops and cafes packed with people. The best place to eat in Singapore would be any hawker center with so many varieties to choose from and the prices are low. Newton Food Center is one fine example, easily accessible (it’s just across the Newton MRT Station), airy and so many stalls to choose from. Some say it’s a bit touristy and expensive but I heard that they have the best oyster omelet in Singapore. I went there before the peak hours (dinner/supper) to avoid the large throng of diners and to find a table easily. I went for the Hup Kee stall and ordered the oyster omelet. The omelet is deep fried in wok and lard. I got my number and the dish was served steaming hot a few minutes later. I like the crispy and sticky consistency to it, the soft and briny taste of the oysters is tops, the cilantro and spring onion compliment the dish though I find it a little bit greasy but it’s still delicious. 

I made it a point to try this at home with less oil and see if I will get that crispy/sticky goodness just like Hup Kee’s. I searched the internet and came up with this procedure. 

Oyster Omelet Recipe

4 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons tapioca flour/starch
2 tablespoons rice flour
¾ cup water
4 eggs
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoon fish sauce
8 fresh oysters
2 sprigs of cilantro (or spring onion)

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in the griddle or a flat frying pan to high heat. Mix the flours with water. Pour flour mixture into the pan. Cook for about 30 seconds to let some crust form on the underside.

2. Break four eggs over the flour mixture. Spread the eggs without breaking the flour 'pancake' underneath. Using the edge of a spatula, divide the mixture into 3 or four pieces, and turnover each piece separately. Cook until the egg is slightly crispy - about 30 seconds.

3. Make space in the center of cooking surface by pushing aside the omelet. Pour 1 tablespoon of oil, then the garlic. Add the oysters. Cook for about 45 seconds. Pour the fish sauce. Then break-up the omelet and mix with the oysters. Serve immediately with cilantro/spring onion and sweet chili sauce. 

I tried to cook the egg a little bit longer to make it crispy. I think I did well but I think more oil will be better next time.